Leak testing technology suits automotive OEMs

An Uson product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 3, 2005

Uson Vector leak testers are used by all major US automotive OEMs.

Extending its leadership in leak testing technology, Uson today announced the adoption of its Vector leak testers among all major US automotive OEMs.

Uson, the world leader in the precision leak and flow tester market, said automotive OEMs are using its powerful and flexible Vector testers to increase production and reduce costs.

The Vector testers also are widely used in the medical and industrial markets.

The Vector outperforms other testers in the market today because it offers OEMs a platform for a variety of testing techniques and engineered test solutions.

It provides an easy-to-use Windows XP environment.

The Vector's unique modular design lets customers choose only the features needed while allowing them to easily and economically expand the capabilities of the tester in the future.

"Our customers asked us to build a leak tester packed with technology to address their ever-changing needs in a global power train manufacturing environment", said Carl Aquilino, Uson President.

"So Uson delivered the Vector leak tester, raising the bar on industry standards by offering built-in modules to support common industry standards such as Ethernet, USB ports and data transfer while allowing the flexibility to upgrade in the future".

Vector offers the ultimate in testing performance, speed, flexibility and durability.

With the Vector's advanced design and its patented, unique Advanced Leak Detection (ALD) software, it conducts leak and flow tests faster than any other tester available on the market today, resulting in production rate increases of up to 60%.

Vector delivers the industry's most flexible testing solution.

OEMs previously limited by off-the-shelf testers can turn to the Vector for any testing need.

For example, Uson will design and engineer a pneumatic circuit to fit an application.

The pneumatic circuits can be as simple as two valves or as complex as 42 vales or more to accommodate OEMs needs today and in the future.

Vector also delivers the industry's highest degree of accuracy and repeatability thereby eliminating false rejects yet keeping defective products from reaching the market.

Another key feature of the Vector is its modular design, which allows OEMs to easily expand system capabilities by simply adding software and hardware modules.

A single Vector tester can have up to 10 test channels, performing independent or concurrent tests employing the industry's widest range of leak and flow test techniques.

Vector software runs in a Windows environment, making it extremely quick and powerful yet simple to use.

The tester, which is Q-Das certified, interfaces with the customer database and existing network, providing real-time information to OEMs.The Vector is built on a universal platform using common hardware and software across the entire family, which increases reliability, reduces downtime and significantly lowers overall ownership costs.

Each version of the Vector consists of three main subsystems: operator panel, electronics and pneumatics.

These subsystems can be mounted together or separately, providing total flexibility.

Uson's pneumatic system uses standard manifold blocks for easy installation and service.

The operator panel is available in three mounting configurations: a 19in rack unit, a NEMA enclosure unit and a bench top unit.

Users can select a large 12.1in colour flat panel LCD for greater visibility or a more compact 7in colour flat panel LCD.

All Vector operator panels feature high visibility accept and reject lights, a tactile responsive alpha numeric keypad, software-defined function keys, start and stop pushbuttons, a mouse and a lockout key.

Vector electronics are provided as plug-in modules that are inserted into an electronics chassis.

The standard electronics chassis has seven card slots for plug-in modules and the expanded chassis has 15 card slots.

Built-in features of the Vector include: multiple programs; colour flat panel display; modular design; three USB ports to support commonly available devices including portable memory; Ethernet connection; and a 20Gbyte hard drive.

Multiple test capabilities supported by the Vector tester include: pressure decay; differential pressure; mass flow; burst; crack test; and occlusion.

Common options include input/output modules; communication modules; and Advanced Leak Detection (ALD) software.